Bobby Bowden Says Joe Paterno’s Statue on the Penn State Campus Should Be Taken Down
Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden told the Altoona Mirror he believes Penn State should take down its statue of Joe Paterno after the Sandusky facts revealed by the Freeh Report.
“Every time somebody walks by and sees that statue, they’re not going to remember the 80 good years,” Bowden said. “They’re going to remember this thing with Sandusky.
“And I say for Joe’s sake, for the family’s sake, I would remove that statue. … I mean, just think, every time you go to a ballgame at Penn State and they shine that camera on that statue, that’s going to be brought up again. So if I was Penn State and I was Joe’s family, I’d say remove all that stuff.”
Bowden, who knew Paterno for 50 years, made sure to point out his sympathy for the Paterno family did not mitigate his anger about the coverup.
I’m just sorry that he and his family have to go through this,” Bowden said. “But let me say this: That’s not as sorry as I am for those young men that for 10 years got sexually abused when it could have been stopped.”
Despite even Bobby Bowden turning, the cult of Paterno still lives on in some parts of the Penn State fan base.
Previously: Freeh Report Implicates Joe Paterno in Active Coverup of Sandusky Scandal
Previously: Freeh Report Fallout: Could Penn State Be Shut Down by the Department of Education?
Previously: Penn State Switched Channel on Student Center TVs as Freeh Report Was Released
[Photo via Getty]

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58 Responses to “Bobby Bowden Says Joe Paterno’s Statue on the Penn State Campus Should Be Taken Down”
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July 13th, 2012 at 10:25 AM
Is it not possible to appreciate all of the good things he did while at the same time damn the man for the horrible things as well? This doesn’t have to be an either/or situation, as most of the media and blogosphere would have us believe. I have zero dogs in this fight, but it’s a fair question.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:30 AM
I don’t really think it’s about that. He is, as the evidence suggests to this point, one of the central figures in the biggest scandal in Penn State history, and college sports.
There are no two ways around it, and it would be a bit disingenuous, especially at this point, for the university to say, when people look at the statue, “ignore the one horrific thing he did and remember the good old days.”
July 13th, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Yes, this. I feel like I’m in a somewhat strange spot because my whole life I felt like Paterno was seriously overpraised for his virtues. But now apparently I’m basically a Paterno apologist because I don’t think he was just a completely evil person.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:35 AM
But now apparently I’m basically a Paterno apologist because I don’t think he was just a completely evil person.
while i dont think he is evil, what he did (along with others) is about as disgusting a thing a person can do. piss on the good old days, he messed up royally here and will be remembered as such.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:36 AM
I heard about Bowden saying this yesterday and it came up that he refuses to go back to FSU for anything. Is that true?
July 13th, 2012 at 10:37 AM
Is it not possible to appreciate all of the good things he did while at the same time damn the man for the horrible things as well?
I remember Marge Schott having a similar opinion about someone, who was it? Oh yeah Hitler.
// what are the odds of banning now?
July 13th, 2012 at 10:39 AM
I think the problem is that all the good he did was what put him in the position of power that created the ability to operate in the sphere of infallibility and absolute power. He was untouchable because of the success and legacy he had already crafted for himself. That came out of good, but was used for evil.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:39 AM
everytime somebody walks by the bowden statue, they’re not going to remember the decade of top 5 finishes, they’re going to remember the decade he collected a paycheck for sitting in a golf cart saying “dadgum” and doing about as much real-live football coaching for FSU as i did.
/fix your site brah
July 13th, 2012 at 10:39 AM
He did good things. Knowingly allowing a pederast to rape children for a further decade to protect your football program and your legacy kind of outweighs any fundraising you did for a university.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:40 AM
I still think a couple more shoes will drop. The fact that Sandusky was still involved with the program post 2001 is puzzling.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Much better the latter as opposed to the former though.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Statue comes down. Bobby Bowden looks better every day.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:43 AM
dadgum, you’re right.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:44 AM
at least there’s no kid buht secks associated with Bowden’s statue though.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:44 AM
at least there’s no kid buht secks associated with Bowden’s statue though.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Seems like an appropriate comparison.
It seems like there are a lot of people pushing this “Agree with Free or you’re a child rapist apologist” attitude, and that is wholly untrue and unfounded. I can see how someone who is a PSU lifer or an ex player could have very strong and opposed opinions of the man, yet a lot of yammering heads out there say that you can’t have it both ways. I find that to be very narrow-minded.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:46 AM
Nicely put.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:46 AM
Jason McIntyre – please fix your site.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:47 AM
counterpoint: i find your lack of assertiveness in decision making to be a character flaw.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:47 AM
Meanwhile, Terry Bowden sits at his desk giving interviews to his sock puppet.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:48 AM
This IS the fix, isn’t it?
July 13th, 2012 at 10:49 AM
you’ll ROO the day you messed with the bowden and his marionettes.
/fear the roo…get it?
//AH
///sarcastic dismissive wave
July 13th, 2012 at 10:50 AM
It’s not his site, and he will gladly forward your complaint to Tech Support.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:51 AM
Can’t answer that, but he still calls Tallahassee home, and resides there for the majority of the year. He also still wears his FSU national championship rings. I’d imagine if he didn’t want anything to do with the university, then he wouldn’t still be wearing them.
/probably talking out of my ass
July 13th, 2012 at 10:51 AM
countercounterpoint: touche
July 13th, 2012 at 10:51 AM
what happened now? got 1 email from a reader and forwarded it to tech. What is the next complaint?
July 13th, 2012 at 10:52 AM
Meanwhile, Terry Bowden sits at his desk giving interviews to his sock puppet.
I got this vision of Dark Helmet in Spaceballs playing with his dolls.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:54 AM
July 13th, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Too many fat chicks.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Comment frequency seems to be arbitrarily throttled. It has been discussed for the last hour and a half in the roundup comments.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:56 AM
pants.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:57 AM
thank you, Spencer.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:59 AM
White people
July 13th, 2012 at 11:00 AM
/dying with laughter
July 13th, 2012 at 11:01 AM
your new server is being very cavalier with the space-time continuum.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:04 AM
It does have to come down. The Library, endowed chairs, and what not can probably stay. But you can’t take it down until Monday, its Arts Fest weekend, and we’ve rioted on arts fest because we drank too much.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:04 AM
July 13th, 2012 at 11:06 AM
Never change PSU. I lived downtown (across from Arrington’s bar) one summer, Arts Fest made me want to murder people.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:06 AM
What is the next complaint?
My wife is a slut.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:11 AM
I heart this thread
July 13th, 2012 at 11:13 AM
I NEVER LEARNED TO READ.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:13 AM
What is the next complaint?
Talking about child abuse instead of marveling at some skanks boobs.
// or Sanchez for Coop
July 13th, 2012 at 11:13 AM
During the initial Sandusky explosion, I made the comment to a reporter that the DA noticeably soured on the PSU program back in the very late 90s/early 2000s. It was amazing how that became a point of fixation with every following reporter and email from Joe Public. It was essentially, “Whooooaaaa…are you sure you wanna say that?!?!” and “Go on…?”. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why that might have been, just needed the various rumors to connect.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:14 AM
not being able to reach sunscreen that is in the middle of your back
/for putting it on AND washing it off
July 13th, 2012 at 11:15 AM
My wife is a slut.
Link?
July 13th, 2012 at 11:17 AM
Growing up I thought grandpa was great, he was fun and always nice to everyone. Later in life my mom tells me some stories about him being a nasty drunk and doing some pretty shitty things. He was still my grandpa and I remember the good things about him, but you just have a more complicated relationship.
Joe was our surrogate grandpa, most of us only saw the nice side. Its difficult to just turn your back on the guy, its just complicated now. And sucks.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:20 AM
Rewatched Primary Colors a couple of weeks ago. Early in the movie, when Travolta does the impassioned hug ‘n cry at the learn to read program, the focus of his display was none other than Ellstin Limehouse.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:40 AM
the focus of his display was none other than Ellstin Limehouse.
Someone sent this to me the other day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LSdHwSVWpw
Blew me away. Only slightly reminds me of the character Limehouse. That man can act.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:43 AM
First time that’s ever been said.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:55 AM
Well put for me, as well.
The book was better than the movie.
/THAT guy who always says that
July 13th, 2012 at 11:59 AM
It was. I read it for a summer reading assignment in middle school where we were allowed to pick our own books. Then the movie came out and I was told I couldn’t use it because there was a movie of it, I was like bitch please. Then backed down.
July 13th, 2012 at 12:01 PM
I remember the last time I was supposed to be so emotionally invested in a statue coming down. I was supposed to feel all patriotic and stuff because people were walking around in the streets beating a statue with their sandals. Penn State got the summary they wanted in the investigation it paid for; they were justified in firing Joe Paterno. The rationale of the justification is kind of flimsy, but they’ll solid that out with the Paterno family and themselves later on. Time has a way of bringing levity to all situations, and thats what Penn State needs more than anything else right now, time. Time to heal, time pay, and time to work.
July 13th, 2012 at 11:41 AM
“We can never take down another statue for the rest of eternity because Saddam.”
-Darrell
July 13th, 2012 at 11:44 AM
pretty sure you were supposed to feel relief that a dictator that tortured his citizens for three decades and was the spark that could’ve ignited the middle east powder keg that was a key figure in starting two wars we got involved with was gone.
July 13th, 2012 at 12:06 PM
I can’t believe they left out Bowden’s suggestion that we would all feel better if all of Paterno’s coaching wins since ’99 didn’t count towards his official coaching record. Then, finally, the healing can really begin. That was really the whole point of Bowden’s statement
July 13th, 2012 at 1:20 PM
Yeah, because the Middle East has been a bastion of calm and civility since Saddam was deposed.
July 13th, 2012 at 4:21 PM
“They should have left the Saddam statue up.”
-Darrell
July 14th, 2012 at 10:30 PM
I’m sure if there was a scandal at FSU and Bowden’s statue were coming down he’d argue against it…NO MATTER WHAT